Pillars of the Wu family

The scorching sun of midsummer scorches the earth. It has been almost three months since Shinano has not rained. The people are helpless in the face of the most terrifying drought. We can only pray for the authority of Fanzuna and the blessing of Suwa Myojin.

A troop of troops with chaotic flags was walking on the mountain road. From the flag prints, it could be seen that this army was from the powerful coalition forces from Beixinano. I know, that is the big star of the Takeda family, the legion directly under Sanada Kotaka.

"Wife Girl Mountain, Chikumagawa River, Kaijin Castle! This battle is not easy to fight!" Ai Mu Masato was a native of Saku County. He was the first member of the Shinano Prefectural Party who surrendered to the Takeda family in 1540. He believed in The elder of Oi Zhenlong, the lord of Changwa City in Nongguo, was a representative of the unscrupulous Chinese as an insider who cheated his master and joined the Takeda family.

"Are we making bait?" Aoyagi Qingchang, the lord of Shinano Aoyagi City, complained in a low voice.

"Hush! The front has stopped advancing." Shi He Xinjun reminded his companions that the front army began to line up in an orderly manner, and the rear army must also prepare for war accordingly.

In order to achieve the purpose of a feint attack, the three thousand troops carried flags twice as large as their own, and they also brought five hundred civilians to mix with them behind the queue to carry the flags. The gaudy flag prints were scattered in the woods everywhere, and matched with the vivid army The sound of the taiko drum really had the meaning of a big attack.

In Haijin City, a group of warriors from the Shinano Kingdom stood on the arrow oars and looked at the army in the distance, and said worriedly: "Six thousand troops attack Haijin City, what should I do?"

"I don't think so! There are 8000 people riding horses in Qiyin. I heard that the Takeda family dispatched 8000 people this time. It is fully twice as many as ours!" A Shinano native put forward his own different opinions.

"Hush! Be careful! It would be bad if they heard it." Several warriors walked around cautiously.Immediately, he glanced at the tower tower facing the castle, where Ogasawara Nagatoki, Murakami Yoshiki, Suda Mitsuki, Shimadzu Tadao and other Shinano people were sitting in the town, and the gate of Kaijin Castle was closed at this time, and all roads and horses came out. The palace, stables, and small castle have all been controlled by the Echigo samurai, and the people of Shinano can only complain in a low voice about the distrust of these former colleagues.

Several people carefully looked at it several times before snorting coldly: "What are you afraid of? The Takeda family is irresistible. Quan Shinano knows that this is the general trend. I think even the gods and Buddhas will not save the defeat!"

"Hey! Have you heard? Now the ruler of Echigo is not the Nagao Ketora who loves to drink, but some famous shogunate who occupies Echigo."

"Let me see, those famous families are about the same. Why don't they rob Echi and come back to attack us in Shinano? What kind of righteous and unrighteous, can there be real knowledge of the land?"

"Exactly! I most admire the samurai families like Hojo Soun, Saito Dozo, and Niko Kojiku. This is the example of our samurai family. To overthrow the master and be the governor, it all depends on your ability!"

"I heard that the famous family of the shogunate became famous because it helped the shogunate fight together. He is also a small wealthy family in the countryside, and he somehow became a famous family. From my point of view, there must be something wrong with it. Most likely he is the surname of the great general of the shogunate. What?"

"How do you know, kid? Could it be that you are envious of the intimacy between Takeda Ozen and Kasuga Toratsuna? No one wants you to be a petty surname for anyone! Hahaha..."

Not long after.The Sanada army finished its formation and began to attack unhurriedly. The Ashgaru team and the archery team slowly advanced. After a rain of arrows was thrown out, they were shot back by the defenders in the city. The casualties of both sides were extremely low. The Sanada army attacked all morning, and then the Shinano coalition army continued to attack. They fought indifferently throughout the day, and in the evening they retreated to their camps.

August is the end of midsummer, the night is slightly cooler than the previous months, and the dry ground is cracked with ugly holes. Unlike the attacking side, the pressure on the defensive side is relatively greater. After a whole day of fighting The warriors also looked tired. They took off their heavy armor and picked up wooden basins to line up at the well to fetch water to wash away the dirt on their bodies.

A waning moon rose higher and higher, and the moonlight was not enough to illuminate the distant scenery. The ashigaru on duty on the arrow paddle seized this precious time and hid in the corner to take a nap. The city soon fell into silence. Only The evaluation room in Haijin City is still brightly lit.

"Why is their offense so weak, and why are there only more than 1000 people in each division?"

"I think they must be scared. Even if 6000 people besiege Haijin City, they won't be able to take it easily!"

Kakizaki Jingjia shook his head, he instinctively felt that this matter would not be that simple, and reminded: "Don't forget that Sanada Kotaka is the leader, that person is very cunning."

"Sanada Yutaka..." The Shinano samurai looked at each other, this name was like a nightmare, it was this person who used tricks to pull the relationship between Murakami Yoshiki and Takanashi Masahiro into opposition, and it was he who tore most of the Shinano samurai into pieces Two halves, one half supported the Nagao family, and the other half supported the Takeda family. Since then, the Northern Shinano wealthy alliance has fallen apart.

Ogasawara anxiously turned around for a long time, then suddenly turned his head and asked, "Did Wuweidian say when to rescue Haijin City?"

All the samurai looked at each other and shook their heads. Yoshiki Murakami showed a bitter expression on his face, and lamented, "Are we supposed to stick to Haijin City? If this happens, morale and morale will suffer."

The Kakizaki Jing family tried their best to comfort them: "Don't worry, everyone, Wuweidian will definitely come to save us! Please believe me..."

Suddenly, there was a sound of shouting and killing outside the city, and there was a faint light of fire, and the banging of the military taiko drum and the horn of the conch startled everyone. Almost at the same time, they uttered a word: "Night attack!"

"Quick! Be sure to block it!" Murakami Yoshiki got up and hurried out, and the samurai who was a little slower to wake up also jumped up and ran out quickly.

The flames were burning outside the city, the shadowy flags were so scary, the rumbling military taiko drums and the shouts of killing frightened the defenders inside the city, no one dared to go out to fight on this dark and windy night, and could only shoot the bullets out of the pot desperately. Arrow, the stalemate didn't last long. After about half an hour, the enemy army under the city gradually retreated.The city was once again pitch black and dead silent.

The defenders in the city broke out in a cold sweat from the sudden night attack.I'm afraid that Yukitaka Sanada will play some tricks again.The samurai could only wait for him to come back to kill the carbine with their clothes untied, but they waited left and right until midnight, and there was no sign of him. Then some people complained, and after a commotion, they went back to their houses and slept with their clothes on.

Before I fell asleep for a long time, there was another clamor outside the city, flames flickering everywhere, and burning rockets shot into the city, scaring these dazed warriors to rush out to defend the city, facing the fierce counterattack of the defenders.The enemy troops under the city did not last long before they all retreated.

This time, many people understood, Murakami Yoshiki cursed with a livid face: "Sanada Yutaka, what a bastard! I have never offended you, why did you hurt us so much! Can't you be upright like a samurai by playing tricks and tricks over and over again?" battle!"

Suda Mitsuki said bitterly: "They are trying to kill us!"

"Don't worry about this, everyone rests immediately! We samurai take turns to take turns, and shoot them back with bows and arrows when the enemy comes! You don't need to come out."

"Izumi Mamoru, is it really okay to do this? What if he really attacks at night?"

Facing the questions from the people of Shinano, Kakizaki Keijia comforted: "No way! Sanada Kotaka is not good at leading troops except for his strategy. The success of several raids depends on his strategy. Even if it is Takeda Harunobu, he can't do it overnight. Break through Haijin City. Don't worry, everyone!"

The facts were exactly as he had expected. Until dawn, Sanada Yutaka organized two feint attacks, and each time the troops dispatched were less than the first time. The last time he was almost surrounded and wiped out by the Echigo army who went out of the city to pursue them. Obviously, the leader of the army The man was not Sanada Yutaka, the other party discarded more than 100 corpses and retreated hastily.

Generally speaking, the losses of both sides are not big. What the defenders in the city lost was a night of rest and some arrows, and the outside of the city only failed to do their best because of the last unsuccessful harassment. After the turmoil, the defenders in the city became exhausted, and Sanada Yutaka came back with the main formation to attack before he fell asleep.

The Sanada army standing outside the city of Haijin was full of energy and vigor, and after a night of rest, they completely suppressed the defenders in the city. Masato Aoki said excitedly: "The bombing of the main hall is really a good idea! Let the sons take turns to harass each other in a few rounds, and it will only last one night." Just let Yoshiki Murakami exhaust himself, playing the main hall is really a clever plan!"

Standing in the shady woods to hide from the sun, even if it is not hot in the morning, the heat between summer and autumn is still unbearable for the armored warriors, and they gather under the woods to enjoy the coolness in this short time a feeling of.

"It's too good to be famous." Sanada Kotaka obviously wasn't thinking about flattery. He stared fixedly at something bouncing in the distance, walked over and grabbed a huge locust. The brown-gray locust had a pair of With fat hind legs, it can jump a long distance. He is very familiar with this kind of insect. It is one of the great disasters that have plagued agriculture for thousands of years.

"Locusts! It turned out to be locusts!" Squeezing the alive and kicking insect to death with his fingers, Masato Soki just happened to walk over, "What's the matter, playing the main hall?"

"The locusts are coming...look there!" Following the direction he guided, a group of locusts could be seen coming out of the ground in the distance, and Xiang Mu Chang turned blue when he saw this scene: "It's too bad !"

Looking up at the dry land all over the vast land of Shinano, swarms of locusts slowly drilled out of the cracks silently. They stretched their wings and gathered into the army of their companions. In the future, for a period of time, They will turn into a terrifying monster named Locust God, devouring all the animals and plants that can be seen, and the locusts pass through without leaving any bones.

"Big trouble is going to happen this year..." Sanada Yutaka said worriedly.

The battle of wits and courage under Kaizu Castle continued for five or six days. The tenacious Shinano people still held on to Kaizu City without taking a step back. Sanada Kotaka was good at attacking the city but it did not mean that he was good at this kind of tough battle. Some Shinano samurai made him very distressed, and several attempts to instigate a rebellion in the city were seen through by the vigilant Kakizaki Jing family.

The Keizaki family is not like Yoshiki Murakami, who is careless. As No.1 in the Seven Commanderies of Echigo, what he is good at is not only outstanding military strategy and martial arts. Gao was also a pious disciple of Caodong Sect, and it was he who invited Master Tianshi Guangyu to serve as the abbot of the Shurangama Monastery in Kakizaki City.

He also has a very high level of resourcefulness and government affairs. Back then, he saw the opportunity to stand on the side of Nagao in the one-third of the original battle and defend the Nagao family against the fierce counterattack of the Echigo-Uesugi faction. It was only then that he joined the ranks of the Nagao family genealogy's acting chief ministers, and at the same time he was the main member of the resident group in Kasuga Mountain City. It is reasonable to see through the changes in Haijin City at a glance. After all, he has suffered such a loss before, and the same method is difficult. Work on him again.

In the city, Murakami Yoshiki, Kakizaki Jingjia and others used various methods to deal with nighttime harassment by lighting torches all over the outside of the city, and warning reminders from several nearby fortresses. The effect was somewhat effective, but the morale in the city gradually declined after such consumption. It is also inevitable.

In the early morning of August [-]th, Sanada Yutaka launched a routine attack. As soon as the army reached the base of Haijin Castle, he felt the ground shaking slightly. Sanada Yutaka suddenly turned around and asked, "Did you hear any noise?"

His younger brother Yazawa Yorimasa shook his head to express that he hadn't noticed, and the Sanada family samurai behind him also shook his head. Sanada Yukitaka thought for a while and still felt something was wrong. From here.

Sanada Yutaka's complexion changed suddenly, and he shouted: "No! There is an enemy attack! The whole army is in formation!"

At this time, a group of fiery red cavalry roared like a sweeping red tsunami, and the familiar black and white Ashikaga Nihito and two flags were all around in all directions, and Sanada's army fell into a sea of ​​red in an instant.

The reaction of the Sanada family's samurai could not be described as unpleasant. In just a few breaths, more than a dozen samurai stood in front of Sanada Yutaka with swords in their hands. Quickly retreat! Everyone, listen up, desperately want to cover the retreat of the lord!"

"Fight to the death and never retreat!" the samurai of the Sanada family shouted.

Wearing red armor and holding a vermilion spear, Takikawa Tokimashi also stared at Yukitaka Sanada. Generals like this are often the most conspicuous. They wear the most gorgeous armor and are surrounded by the most densely populated warriors. Liulian Qian Daqi betrayed him even more deeply, Takikawa Shimao shouted: "Zuo Jin! Cover me!"

"Know!" The bow-wielding general in red armor raised his bow and aimed at the samurai blocking the way in front of Takikawa Tokimasa. Arrow after arrow was like ordinary bow-drawing training, and the samurai of the Sanada family hit the arrow like felled wheat. died.

At the same time, there were three cavalry behind Takikawa Tokimashi. They waved their big guns to cover Takikawa Tokimashi. Any Sanada army who tried to outflank them would die under their scimitars and big guns. The charge smashed the Sanada army into the bottom of the sieve, and Sanada Xingtaka no longer cared about these things, and retreated desperately back under the escort of a dozen samurai knights.

Shile Zhentong also saw Sanada Yutaka fleeing frantically, and shouted excitedly: "My lord has an order! Whoever captures the enemy general Sanada Yutaka alive will be rewarded with a thousand catties and promoted to a level!"

"Ha!" Chibei samurai all stared at the direction of Sanada Yutaka's escape with red eyes and chased after them. A thousand cavalry turned into a few waves and charged out at high speed, even the defeated Sanada army behind them was too late. No one cared what strange title he yelled out.

The Shinano samurai on the head of Haijin City were dumbfounded. A large group of red cavalry samurai entered the Sanada army and started a massacre, and then chased them out again. What is going on?Many people have not yet figured out the situation.

"Go out! Defeat the remnants of the Sanada army!" Kakizaki Jingjia and Murakami Yoshikiyaki issued an order almost at the same time. Hundreds of mounted warriors from Echigo and Shinano rushed out of Otemon, chasing after the desperately retreating Sanada army. The situation on the battlefield took a 180-degree turn, and the smoothness was beyond imagination. (To be continued..)